Do you GAIN or LOSE weight when travelling in Europe?

I actually tend to lose weight or stay steady. The reason as ou suggest has been because I walk much, much more than I normally have walked at home. Now that I've moved to NYC and am walking to work everyday I'm going to lose a bit of that edge, but then again, maybe I'll be fitter yet and able to walk longer and farther in Europe. ; )

I don't gain weight in Europe. In fact, often I actually loose weight. Yup, my last trip was over Christmas and I lost 2 lbs ;-) In my case, that's partly due to all the extra physical activity with much more walking than driving and little sitting at a desk. In part, it's also the type of food that I eat - in general it's on the healthy side with some special treats thrown in here and there. And there is no eating out of boredom, you know like the kind of mindless eating while you're watching TV. You have no time to do that while travelling.

Geoff, I don't monitor the weight situation too closely, but believe that I lose a bit of weight during travels. I tend to eat well on my travels (unfortunate that I can't post photos here as I have some good examples), but this is offset by the amount of walking I do. The distances and duration are considerably more than I normally walk at home, and of course some of the time I'm walking with about 50 lbs. of gear on my back.

I usually lose about a pound or so, and I eat pretty much whatever I want to when I'm on vacation. I definitely can't do that at home. I have an office job, so I'm sitting most of the day. When I'm in Europe, I'm walking constantly.

I usually lose a pound or two, or worst case scenario I stay the same. I've never gained. I eat what I want, but I walk a lot!!

Because the food in Europe is far superior to the swill we are fed here in the U.S. I usually go to Europe for 30 days, eat as if the end is near AND LOSE 15 - 20 POUNDS. I guess it is all that walking??? If you are ever in Rheims and like pate salad just order "The Large Greedy Plate."

First time we went to Europe my husband lost weight due to all the walking and I gained weight due to eating more calories than I do at home. Even though I ran every other day in addition to all the miles we walked it wasn't enough to cancel out all those calories consumed. Just depends on how much exercise your body is used to.

I nearly always gain weight on vacation, even with all of the extreme walking, because I choose not to watch my weight on vacation. See a yummy pastry? Buy it! Want to try an unusual local soda? Let's go! Multiple-course French meal with lots of sauces? That's for me! I'll swim the laps and cut back to the calories when I get home. :)

We tend to lose but it is combination of walking and not eating or snacking like we do at home. We also tend to skip lunch or at most a little cheese and fruit. But for the most part we get by on two meals a day.

I seem to either stay the same or lose some weight. I eat what I want and walk a lot - maybe 6-8 miles per day - and that combination works well for me. Last summer when I was in Germany, it was so hot that we didn't do much during the day but we also weren't hungry enough for a real lunch. Every day we had breakfast (the hearty German breakfast of cheese, butter, bread, meat, eggs), a midday snack, usually cake and/or gelato at a cafe, and usually dinner out somewhere. You're on vacation - eat whatever you want!

I maintained my weight last year. We ate a big breakfast every day, had either a late lunch with no dinner or a light lunch with a big dinner. All the walking we did kept the pounds off( I wish I could say that I kept them off once we go home!)

I usually stay the same, however, last summer we went to Italy and my husband FORCED me to eat gelato three times a day. And then there was the pizza. And the wine. And the pastries. We definitely gained a little last summer. :)

Consistently, I lose 8 pounds during a 2-3 weeks vacation in Europe. This is even when I am eating gelato twice a day. I walk a whole lot more while on vacation.

We are fit and active both at home and traveling. And we enjoy good food and wine. We make a point of walking all over when in Europe, eat very well, and come home thiner than we left, every time.

We tend to gain weight. Part of traveling is trying all the local foods, and they tend not to be salads!

Either stay the same or gain. Even with all the walking, I don't get near the amount of exercise I do at home (I am at the gym doing an hour+ of aerobic exercise 4x a week). I don't ever deprive myself of food on a trip, so it's usually the pastries that kill me, or as the case in Spain recently the vino (at every meal!) and ham, ham, ham. I'm still trying to get rid of my Spain poundage (but I don't regret any bite, it made the experience).

We are pretty active at home, and though we eat a lot more while in Europe (lots of chocolates also), we tend to either lose a few pounds or stay about the same. I've never gained. There is so much running around all day. My kids tend to lose quite a bit also, in spite of eating whatever they fancy. Vacation time I never cut calories.

My boyfriend and I both ended up losing a few pounds each on our recent trip, despite indulging in all that food - and all that beer - while we were there. I have had the same experience every time I've visited family in Russia, as well. I definitely think the constant walking has a lot to do with it. We were on our feet 8-10 hours a day, so that's probably ~12-15 miles a day -- trumps even my hour of cardio 5-6 times week at home.

Always lose... the walking, the portion sizes that are realistic (not American) the lack of preservatives (even tho I avoid at home, there are still some hiding) the food that is so delicious I think I am more satisfied with a smaller portion of something wonderful. The lack of eating at a drive thru or eating on the run allows for your body to process what you do eat in a way that helps your metabolism. I, for one, would like to make that my major reason for going to Europe more often....have to work on the diet! (any excuse will do)

I've put on about 30 pounds in Europe. Of course, I've been here almost 15 years, so...

For the record, I've lost weight since moving to Germany. Probably the biggest reason is that I have a dog who needs to be walked every day. Another reason, however, I think has to do with the fact that purveyors of junk food aren't as conveniently located. Fast food restaurants and petrol station convenience stores exist, of course, but they aren't nearly as ubiquitous as in the US. And a final reason, perhaps... many of the prepared foods here aren't loaded with excess sweeteners, like they would be in the US. Its a small difference that wouldn't likely have any effect for a typical traveler, but probably does when you eat the food over a long period of time.

Eating and walking - the magic combination! Usually stay the same weight - even with 2 gelato/day minimum! And don't forget the wine....and the risotto that came in a bowl made entirely of CHEESE! I love Italy!

I've almost always lost...or just stayed same. I'm pretty thin to begin with, but always THINK I'll gain in Europe b/c of all of the great food I'm eating. On trip to Germany, Austria & Prague a few yrs back, was convinced I'd gained weight b/c of almost daily bfast of chocolate croissants....sometimes more than one, truth be told! (somehow, they seemed to follow me whereever I went!) and lots of beer each night. When I got home, I found I had actually lost a few. Due to the constant walking, hiking, just being on the go all day, every day, etc. I do work out regularly at home (big runner here), but DO spend large chuncks of time in between my work-outs in the office. When friends asked me what my secret to taking some pounds off, my response: "eat lots of choc croissants and dink endless amounts of beer!"

Neither. I might expect to gain, since I don't work out while traveling like I do at home. And we are foodies who eat lots of good meals. But, what I think saves me is that I sit down and eat 3 substantial meals a day (and yes, a pastry sometimes in between too), but I don't snack the way I might at my desk at work, or the way I might when I walk in the door at home from work. I took an 8 day horseback trip in Spain last fall, and ate 3 huge meals every day. I was stuffed to the gills at every meal; the food was quite heavy (ham, potatoes, fish, more potatoes, bread). I was sure I would gain weight...and I can home 4 pounds lighter. (And no, horseback riding is not a calorie burner). But there was ZERO snacking. There was no access to food in between meals; we were on horses high up in the mountains!

We always lose - I think we need to move there.

I've always lost a couple pounds... One, because we save money by walking absolutely everywhere, and two, because I drink a lot more water because of the exorbitant price of sodas!

I always lose a good deal when I'm there. I'm on the underweight side and I try to gain there and I epically fail every time.

I always lose weight when I travel fro more than a week or so. When traveling to Asia, I will lose 10-20 pounds over the course of a few weeks. When going to Europe, I'll lose 5 -10 pounds over the same time. I attribute it to the following: I'm doing a LOT of walking wherever I go. If there's a church or castle or bell tower (or a ruined temple or other big old pile of rocks), we're gonna climb it. We walk all day long, burning a lot of calories. I generally eat what I want in Europe, and we certainly don't scrimp on the desserts. BUt the cost of meals in Europe are a deterrent that tends to be a limiting factor for us. And, as someone else mentioned upthread, I don't constantly snack while traveling (but I often do at home). In Asia, I'm much more careful about what I eat (don't take chances with "street food" and I'm just a lot more picky about food sources) - that tends to help me lose even more. Travel is definitely good for me. :)

Stay the same or slight gain. when i was in italy two years ago, i gained 3 pounds (over 2.5 weeks) because i ate whatever i wanted, including gelato at least once a day and tons of cookies, bread, pastries, and pasta. while i was walking more than i do at home, i wasn't on my strict 45-90 minutes/day exercise routine which hurt a little. with that said, i considered 3 pounds a victory...i had assumed it would be much worse.
went to disney world a few months ago for 4 days and literally ate to the near point of sickness and lost a pound though...but i was on my feet from 9am - 9pm every day between the walking and the waiting in line, so i guess that helped. i leave for a trip to germany/austria/switzerland/sweden next week and i'm hoping to stay the same...i don't eat meat so i won't be dealing with schnitzels ad the like. hopefully i can stay the same this time around!

Am I the only one that starts a diet to lose a few pounds a few months before a trip?

Extra walking/climbing cancels out the extra eating/drinking. Gotta enjoy the food & wine while there :)

I'm currently on my "extreme diet" of two weeks leading up to my ten day trip to central Europe later in the month. That being said, I lived in Germany for three years a few years back and didn't gain an ounce till the last three months I was there - and I tried to eat every bratwurst in sight. Then I got back to the states, and found out I could buy bratwurst whenever I wanted...

Just got back from 3 weeks in Italy. I eat very healthy at home, buy everything from farmers markets etc, but dont exercise as much as I should. In Italy I ate a typical croissant and cappuccino every morning, and all the pizza, pasta, fried food, pastries, and gelato you can imagine. And I lost weight for sure...probably because I was walking anywhere between 5-10 hours every single day and also probably because of the sheer high quality of the food. I can't really imagine being on a diet on vacation. For me a great portion of the joy of traveling is all the food and I want to eat it all and eat whatever's typical of the area, whether it's healthy or unhealthy. A lifetime of memories surely would cancel out even if I did gain a bit of weight.

Just returned from 19 days in Germany, Switzerland, & Austria. Have to report that I gained a few pounds. Ok, more like 5 or 6 pounds. I think in my case I have been watching what I'm eating for the past 9 months or so (and lost 30 pounds) and I pretty much threw all that out the window in favor of all the good food (and chocolate!) while on the trip. Back to behaving myself now that I'm home!

I have a tendency to add a few pound due to the fact that all the hotels offer breakfast. In the USA i do not eat breakfast. In europe i try to eat a light lunch and a larger dinner. I do a lot of walking in europe which helps a little. Time to diet when i return home.

I got back on May 31st. from a 3 week trip in Europe and I lost 5 lbs. Between the walking and the stairs, even though I ate everything in sight, I still lost weight. Now, if I can keep it off I'll feel better.

I stay about the same. The walking/stair climbing and eating balance each other out.

The last time I went to Europe was when I was 16, as an "exchange student" for three weeks. Yes, I walked a little more than I did at home, but that did not make up for all the beer and ice cream I consumed! I gained 10lbs in three weeks. Keep in mind how much beer I was drinking, and my host mother thought I was underweight, so she had me eating every time I left the house or came home (from consuming liters of beer). I also stayed at their home for all three weeks, only taking day trips to nearby cities (saw Burg Eltz, woo, didn't know it was a thing until recently!), I was near Cologne.

Lose. You will probably do a lot more walking (and sweating) than normal. Enjoy the food!